


I wish you were here

by manesalex



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alex Manes Needs a Hug, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Broken Bones, Canon Disabled Character, Depression, Food Deprivation, Hurt Alex Manes, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Michael Guerin Loves Alex Manes, Minor Maria DeLuca/Michael Guerin, Sad Alex Manes, Sad Michael Guerin, Self-Worth Issues, Starvation, Unreliable Narrator, evil Forrest Long, mild sexual comments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:13:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24059545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manesalex/pseuds/manesalex
Summary: After Michael comes to him crying about Maria being sick, Alex will do anything to get the information Michael needs to save her.
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 9
Kudos: 117





	I wish you were here

Alex is staring at his computer screen, eyes burning as he goes through more of the Caulfield research and torture, looking for answers, when a knock comes on his door.

He locks his computer and then stands, making his way to the door, stretching tired muscles as he moves.

Michael is standing in front of his door, soaking wet, tears mixed with the rain that’s pouring down.

He doesn’t have time to speak before Michael is in his arms, face buried against his neck as harsh sobs wrack his body. He can’t make out what’s going on between the sobs and the repetition of “It’s all my fault,” so he just holds Michael, stroking his back and his curls, whispering soothing noises until he calms.

That’s when Alex is finally able to close the door and lock it, pulling Michael with him toward the bathroom, handing him a towel and heading toward his bedroom to find dry clothes.

Michael follows, dripping over everything, looking like a lost puppy. So Alex just grabs a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie before directing Michael back to the bathroom.

Michael just stands there watching him, so it’s Alex who helps him undress and dries him off, trying not to look or touch more than is necessary. Michael is with Maria now. He’s trying to respect that.

He helps Michael get dressed and guides him back toward the living room, pushing him down onto the couch and waiting until he’s ready to start talking.

“It’s Maria,” Michael starts. Alex tries not to flinch. “The visions she’s having, she keeps pushing them and going further and… She’s declining fast. She doesn’t remember who I am or what year it is half the time and I-” he shakes his head. “It’s my fault. She never would have pursued this if it weren’t for me and now it’s destroying her.”

Alex wants to point out that it really isn’t his fault, that Mimi being abducted had nothing to do with Michael, that Maria finding out about aliens had been Rosa’s doing, that Michael hadn’t caused any of it. But he knows Michael and he knows that won’t help. The only thing that will help is if he can fix it.

Another part of him is crushed by the thought that Michael really loves her, that the man he had thought he was going to grow old with is lost to him forever. And that, he’s certain, is _his_ fault.

He doesn’t bring up either, simply reassuring Michael that he’ll figure it out, that between him and Liz, they will, that he’ll look into anything that will help in the drives.

While Alex murmurs reassurances, he’s plotting, figuring out a way to save the person Michael loves for him, even though it breaks his heart that that person isn’t himself.

* * *

Two days after he went to Alex’s house crying, looking for comfort only Alex could give him, Michael is going with Isobel to meet Alex at the Longs’ ranch. He doesn’t know why Alex wants him to bring Isobel, but he doesn’t question it. If Alex has answers or access to someone with them, he may need Isobel’s powers to help.

“Your boyfriend help you get your answers?” Michael asks when he sees Alex standing there, Forrest Long at his side, Forrest’s arm pressed against his back

“He did,” Alex says, tone even. Too even, though Michael doesn’t pick it up at first. Alex hands him a folder. “This is what I found on the hard drives.”

Michael opens it, about to look through it, when Forrest interrupts, “And this is the information from Deep Sky.”

Michael looks up, surprised, unsure what’s going on, when Forrest hands him a second folder. Then Forrest leans down, picking up a bag and holding it forward, “Some of those flowers to dull her powers until you find an answer.”

“How did you get all this?” Michael asks, knowing the information and supplies couldn’t have been cheap. And then he realizes, “What did you trade to get this?”

Alex is ignoring him, turning to Isobel. “You need to make sure he doesn’t do something reckless, okay? Get him to focus on helping Maria. Don’t let him follow me. I’ll be fine.”

Michael looks between Alex and Isobel, completely lost, certain there’s something massive he’s missing that he can’t quite put his finger on.

Isobel is nodding, “I can handle it. And thank you.”

And then Alex and Forrest are turning around and he can see it, the gun Forrest has pressed into Alex’s back. And he _knows_ Alex could fight it, but he’s not. He’s just letting Forrest push him toward a car.

Michael watches as Alex climbs in, as the man inside the car handcuffs him to the door. All the while, Alex isn’t fighting. He’s letting it happen.

“No, wait, Alex!” Michael calls, running after him, folders and flowers forgotten on the ground. He can’t let Alex do this, he can’t let Alex trade himself for Maria like this.

And then he hits the wall of Isobel’s powers, holding him back and he can barely see Alex for the tears streaming down his face.

“It’s okay, Michael,” he hears Alex say before the car door closes and the car starts.

Michael knows it’s the furthest thing from okay as he watches the man he loves be taken away from him.

* * *

Liz gets to work the instant Isobel hands the information to her, but Michael… Michael is useless, unable to stop picturing Alex getting into that car and being taken away from him.

He wants to scream at Alex, wants to tell him off for making decisions for him again. He wants to curse at him for sacrificing himself for Michael again, for deciding he was an acceptable loss. And he wants to cling onto him and never let him go again, trace those beloved features with his fingertips and then his lips, shower him with promises that he’ll do better, that he’ll love Alex right this time, that he won’t let his fear of pain make him run from the one person on this godforsaken rock that ever felt like home. The pain will come either way. And now it’s combined with regret. For ever making Alex think that he _isn’t_ the love of Michael’s goddamn life.

Isobel gives him space, lets him tear everything apart, while she and Max keep their focus.

He knows Liz and Kyle are working, searching through the information they have, keeping Maria dosed until they can make something similar to that necklace, something that will keep her powers in check. Isobel is helping them, using her own mental powers to keep Maria steady, to keep finding her when she gets lost.

Max is busy talking with Jenna and Charlie, working on finding more information about Deep Sky, trying to figure out where Alex is and how to save him.

Maria is the one who comes to talk to him three days later. She’s somewhat steadier now, but not completely better. Her periods of confusion are shorter and further apart, but they’re still there.

She grabs his hand and pulls him to sit next to her on Max’s couch. He’s unmoving, unresponsive as she speaks, “Why did you tell me it was over between you two?”

He’s surprised by how calm she is about it all.

“Yeah, well, your sister has been helping me get in touch with my inner ice queen,” she replies, making him realize he had said that thought out loud.

“It was,” Michael says softly. “And I guess it wasn’t at the same time. We weren’t together. And I didn’t _want_ to be in love with him. I wanted to be in love with someone who would stay. Someone who wanted to be with me.”

Maria sighs, “You know you can’t push him away and then blame him for leaving, right?”

Michael is about to start to object when she holds her hand up to silence him.

“I know he fucked up too. I get it. But I’m not talking to him, am I? Because that idiot went and exchanged himself for me. And not even because he’s my friend, but because he’s in love with my boyfriend and he’s always been a self-sacrificing piece of shit.” She pauses, takes a breath, before correcting herself, “Former boyfriend. Because I am most definitely not dating someone who is in love with my friend.”

“I’m sor-”

“Shut up,” she says. “Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to him when we get him back. And get your shit together. Because we need your help to get him back.”

Two days after that, Michael goes to talk to Jesse Manes.

* * *

Alex has lost count of the number of days Deep Sky has had him. They move him every once in a while. He loses time when they torture him, but he knows he doesn’t tell them anything. He’s not sure that he has any information they want. Maybe they’re just torturing him for fun.

He tells himself that Liz and Michael have found a cure for Maria, that they’ve found a way to help both her and Mimi, that Michael is happy now. All of his friends, all the people he loves, are happy.

This was the right choice. Sacrifice the least valuable one, the one none of them would risk themselves to save. The one least likely to give in to torture, the one most likely to survive this. The expendable one.

It’s not that he thinks he doesn’t have value to them. He knows he does. He has connections that have gotten Liz a lab to work in, answers for Michael, a potential cure for Maria. But he’s not family. Or a loved one. He’s on the outside.

When he sleeps, he dreams of home. The smell of rain. Inhuman warmth. Waking up in a bed too small for the both of them with Michael beside him. Being able to take his time touching him. In his dreams, they aren’t interrupted. They take their time exploring each other. They aren’t rushed. There’s no end in sight.

He always wakes to the smell of mildew and to cold that seeps into his bones and makes him ache.

It’s raining the last day they move him. They took away his prosthetic long ago and his good leg slips in the mud when they drag him to the car, his head covered completely so he can’t see a thing. But he can hear the rain, can feel it on his skin. And he can hear the car door open, feel as he’s shoved into it, slipping and hitting the metal of the floor of the car with his bad leg.

Someone lifts him again and tosses him in. He can’t brace himself. His hands are behind him, tied tightly together. He considers trying to dislocate his already broken thumb to free himself. But then where would he go?

He wouldn’t get far. No, it’s better to wait for a good opportunity.

He lets them reposition him until he’s seated. He listens to the door close, the car start. He listens as they drive, trying to keep track of speed, of changes in direction. Not that it’ll be much use if he can’t get out.

Eventually, they arrive at their destination. The Deep Sky members leave the car. All except one who is guarding him. The guard doesn’t speak, but Alex can hear him breathing.

He can hear voices outside, but he can’t make them out through the rain.

After a few minutes, the car door opens and he’s being hauled out, dragged through the mud.

He ends up being shoved into another pair of hands, people on either side of him dragging him forward through the mud.

He’s lifted into another vehicle, not gently at all, but it’s too far off the ground for them to shove him at it. Probably an SUV.

The ride is silent, but, eventually, he hears someone turning around in one of the seats in front of him.

Then the bag they’ve placed over his head is moving, pulled off and tossed to the side.

It takes him a minute to adjust to the light, but then he sees Gregory turned around in the seat in front of him. “You with us, baby brother?” he asks.

He coughs when he tries to speak, so, instead, he nods, turning to look at the driver. He can make out the side of Flint’s head.

“You going to fight me if I free you?” Gregory asks.

Alex shakes his head.

Gregory unbuckles his seatbelt and starts crawling halfway toward the back, gesturing for Alex to turn and show him his hands.

Gregory winces when he sees them and, yeah, Alex is sure his dreams of making music are dead. But that’s okay. The rest of his dreams are dead too, so what’s one more?

Gregory frees them and Alex rests his hands on his lap, trying not to look at his mangled fingers. It doesn’t matter.

“Where are you taking me?” he asks finally, voice hoarse and barely audible. He doesn’t know what they traded for him or why they wanted him back in the first place, but he’s certain they won’t be doing anything good with him. Not if his dad has anything to say about it. He knows Jesse Manes wishes he had died in the explosion that had taken his leg. Easier to deal with a dead hero rather than a living disappointment.

They don’t respond. But, eventually, they go off road, driving through the desert. The rain has stopped by the time they meet another vehicle, this time a familiar jeep, out in the middle of nowhere.

Max Evans stands by it, Charlie Cameron by his side.

Flint and Gregory get out of the SUV, opening the back door and pulling Alex out of it, dragging him toward Max and Charlie. Max pretends not to watch, but Charlie’s eyes are ice cold on both of his brothers.

And then he’s being loaded into the jeep.

He assumes he loses time again because, the next thing he knows, they’re pulling up to the dilapidated school.

“Sorry we can’t take you home, man,” Max says. “We would take you to the hospital, but Isobel wants to see if she can heal you first.”

Alex just shrugs and lets Charlie help him out of the jeep. She lets him use her like a crutch and doesn’t once wrinkle up her face at the way he’s certain he smells. He promises himself then and there that he’ll find a way to get her a proper new identity so she can stay in one place.

Isobel and Maria are the only ones there. He tamps down the surge of disappointment, reminding himself that it doesn’t matter. That _he_ doesn’t matter. Maria is healthy and seems like herself. That’s what matters.

“I’m sorry I have to do this,” Isobel starts. “But I assume you want to use those again,” she nods at his hands. “Max can’t risk his heart and Michael hasn’t bothered to learn this, so you’re stuck with me.”

Alex just nods and manages to croak out a “Thank you.”

He tries to give Max and Charlie an after action report, but they wave him off, telling him to wait until he can speak more easily again.

Isobel’s healing is subtle and precise, one hand on his left hand as she realigns each of his fingers with her mind, knitting them back together as if they had never been broken. And then she moves to the right, doing the same there. “Anywhere else?” she asks when she’s done, taking a sip from a bottle of acetone.

He shakes his head. His ribs will heal fine, his shoulder is back in place. 

She ignores his dismissal, placing a hand against his chest and _searching._ He can feel her reaching out, looking for any injury to knit back together. Except his leg. She leaves that as is, withdrawing as soon as she’s done with the rest.

Maria drives him home, helping him into his house and waiting outside of the bathroom while he showers.

It takes a long time and he still doesn’t feel clean, but he knows the dirt and smell are gone at the very least.

He puts on the sweatpants and hoodie Maria had found for him, tightening the sweatpants as much as he can. He’s swimming in clothes that used to fit him well.

“You’re doing better?” he asks Maria when she helps him to his bed. There’s a glass of water there already and he greedily sips from it.

“Kyle says you can take this if you need it to sleep,” Maria holds out a pill. “He’ll be by to check on you when his shift is over. He doesn’t want you taking anything too strong right now.”

Alex nods, setting the pill by the glass of water and turning his attention back to Maria. “Talk to me. Liz and Michael found a cure?”

“They did,” she nods after a moment. “I am entirely normal. As is my mom.”

“Mimi’s okay?” Alex asks, grinning through his sudden tears.

Maria gives him a tense smile, but she nods. He can tell she’s holding something back and he is silent as she debates with herself whether or not to speak. And then, finally, “Why didn’t you tell me he was your Max?”

Alex wants to ask her if she would have cared. He’s always been outside of the bubble that Maria and Liz have. A friend, yes, but always the third wheel. Always the least important one. But he knows he doesn’t deserve the friendships he has and, really, they’re tenuous as it is. “Does it matter?” he finally asks. “He ended things with me for good. He said he liked you, that he wanted to be with you. He deserves to be happy.”

“And you don’t?”

“You’re both good people, Maria. I’m not.” He’s killed innocent people just because his government told him to. He’s killed children because his government told him to. He’ll never be clean of that. And, at one time, he maybe thought Michael could love him in spite of that. But now he knows better. Now Michael knows who he is and he’s chosen someone else.

Maria doesn’t argue with him. Maybe she knows what he is too. “Get some sleep, Alex. Kyle will be here to check on you in a bit.” She reaches over to his bedside table, grabs the pill and hands it to him.

So he takes it, followed by the water she hands him. And then he lays down in bed and waits for sleep to take him.

* * *

Isobel won’t tell Michael about Alex’s injuries. She claims she’s following HIPPA rules, but Michael knows Isobel doesn’t care about that. It’s more likely she’s worried about what he’ll do if he learns what they did to Alex. He already wants to destroy them for what little he knows.

So, when he makes it to Alex’s house, he’s not sure what he’ll find.

Maria is outside, soaking up the last bits of daylight. She stands as he approaches, anticipating what he’s about to say as the panic hits him at the thought of Alex being _alone_. “Don’t worry. I checked on him five minutes ago. He’s asleep. How did things go on your end?”

Michael sighs. Waiting with Jesse Manes and Jenna Cameron for confirmation that Max and Charlie had Alex was awful. He doesn’t know much, but he knows enough that, if Jenna wasn’t there, he probably would have killed Jesse. Jenna was supposed to be his backup, but she kept him from doing something stupid instead. “Smoothly enough,” he says simply, rather than giving her the details. “You were there when Max and Charlie brought him in?” Michael asks. When she nods, he asks, “How bad was it?”

Maria just shakes her head, but her expression is haunted.

Michael reaches for the door, only pausing when Maria places a hand on his arm.

“Take good care of him, Guerin,” her voice is soft.

He simply nods and opens the door. He’s going to do his best to be the kind of man Alex deserves, if only Alex will forgive him for trying to look away.

He opens the bedroom door to find Alex hidden by a pile of blankets, only a mess of dark hair visible from the door.

So he makes his way over to the bed slowly.

Alex is gaunt, his skin pale except for the dark circles under his eyes. He’s shivering, even under the pile of blankets on top of the bed.

Michael wants to find whoever did this to him and pull them limb from limb.

Instead, he reaches out hesitantly to brush a lock of Alex’s hair from his face. He’s surprised by how Alex nuzzles into him in his sleep.

Michael gives into the urge to kick off his boots and sit down on the far side of the bed, lifting the covers and putting them over his legs, hoping that his body heat will help warm Alex up.

Alex murmurs something in his sleep and moves closer until his face is inches from Michael’s thigh.

Michael just watches as his face relaxes again and as his shivering slowly fades. He reaches out, stroking through Alex’s hair, letting himself have this for once, hoping that Alex will forgive him and give him another chance. He’s determined to do things right this time.

* * *

The smell of rain and the feeling of that inhuman warmth greet Alex. And he just wants to stay in this dream forever. This dream where he’s home and he’s loved. Where he’s not cursed by his family legacy.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” he hears a familiar voice say. The brush of fingers through his hair, thumb smoothing over his brow.

He doesn’t want to open his eyes to the cold and the dark. He wants to stay here, in this dream.

“You know, you can’t be sacrificing yourself. You gotta talk to me and we can figure it out together. As a team.”

He shakes his head trying to snuggle closer to the warmth he feels. His face presses against something rough, like jean material, and that’s when he jerks back and opens his eyes.

“There you are,” Michael’s voice is impossibly fond and Alex is certain this can’t be real. He can’t be allowed to have this. He can’t possibly be allowed to have Michael sitting in his bed, leaning against his headboard, his right hand in Alex’s hair.

Alex scrambles backward as well as he can, his legs tangling in the sheets. This has to be a trick. This can’t be real. He can’t really be home. Michael can’t really be here. He couldn’t have been touching him like _that_.

Michael stands, hands raised, stepping back. “I’m gonna get Valenti, okay? I’ll be right outside.”

He watches as Michael walks out the door and closes it behind him. He listens to the murmur of voices outside the door 

And then, moments later, Kyle walks in and closes the door behind him.

“Hey, man,” Kyle’s voice is laced with concern and Alex forces himself not to point out that he’s not a child and he doesn’t have to be approached with kid-gloves. “Isobel said they broke all the bones in all of your fingers? And you had broken ribs? Some shoulder injuries? And some other breaks that maybe were older?”

“Yeah. Other than the leg, I’m good as new,” Alex replies evenly.

Kyle checks him over anyway and says, “You’re a bit dehydrated, but not alarmingly so, so I’m going to stop by tomorrow with some gatorade. Until then, just drink lots of water. And we’re going to have to slowly increase your food intake. It looks like they only fed you enough to keep you alive and mobile, but not enough that you could fight back.” He pauses, “As for your prosthetic, we’re going to need to work on the physical therapy and getting you back to a consistent weight before we get you a new one.”

Alex just nods and waits until Kyle is almost to the door before asking, “What happened? How did you… What did you give up to get me back?”

Kyle shakes his head, “I don’t know. That was Guerin’s thing. I just know that he went to your dad and your dad arranged it.”

Alex nods. It makes sense. Michael would never let him owe Alex for saving Maria. And that explains why he had woken up to Michael in his bed. Alex is certain he must have felt guilty for everything Alex had gone through. As if he hasn’t been through worse. And he knows Michael doesn’t like Alex making decisions for him. He supposes he’ll have to explain that to him, how it was the best choice. And how it was to help his friend. Even if Alex had mostly done it for Michael.

* * *

Michael waits on the couch until Kyle opens the door again.

“I’m going to make him something to eat,” Kyle tells him, already heading toward the kitchen. “He’s probably going to need a lot of sleep until he gets his energy back up. And… Just be patient with him. He’s been through a lot.”

Michael nods, opening the door to the bedroom and stepping inside.

Alex is sitting up in his bed, his laptop on his lap. “What did you give him?” Alex’s tone is cold.

“What?”

“What did you give my father in exchange for him getting me back?” Alex asks. His eyes are focused on his laptop screen.

“Will you look at me, please?” Michael asks, stepping closer to the bed.

Alex just sighs and sets his computer aside, raising one eyebrow at Michael. Michael knows this look on his face. He hates it, the way Alex shuts down with him, the way he shuts Michael out.

“The hard drives from Caulfield, copies of the information from Deep Sky, the console, and one of the pods. The broken one, not that they know it’s broken.”

Alex just nods, pursing his lips before saying, “You shouldn’t have given him those things.”

“They’re just _things_ , Alex!” Michael can’t help but snap. “You handed yourself over like it’s nothing and so, yeah, I gave your dad what he wanted to get you back. I would have let him take me too, but he didn’t ask for that.”

Alex’s face somehow pales more, his tone low and dangerous when he says, “Do not _ever_ let my father get his hands on you.”

“Then don’t hand yourself over like that!”

“It was the right choice!” Alex shouts back. “You needed information to save Maria. And it worked. She’s fine, Mimi’s fine, it was worth it.”

“Nothing is ever worth your life, Alex!”

“ _Really_?” Michael winces at the harshness of his voice. “Because the way I see it, you handed over the secrets to your people’s survival with the pod, you gave up your way home, and you gave their smart bomb research back to them! You do understand that Project Shepard will use that to kill you, Max and Isobel, and every other surviving alien on this planet, right?” He doesn’t pause before he continues, “I’m one person and, yes, I’m the most disposable one. You and Max and Isobel all need each other. Max needs Liz. Liz needs both Rosa and Kyle. You need Maria. And Jenna and Charlie need each other. I’m the one we sacrifice, I’m the one no one does anything stupid for! And, instead of just letting them have me, you-”

“I need _you_!” Michael shouts in response. When Alex flinches, his tone softens, “Alex… I don’t need Maria. I care about her. I felt responsible for what happened to her, but I _need_ you. I love _you_. And, yeah, I’m an idiot. I tried not to love you because I thought it would be easier. I thought it would hurt less. But it doesn’t. And I can’t. You’re in my DNA, Alex. There’s no version of me who isn’t in love with you.”

Alex is completely still, staring at him in shock.

“I was never gonna let them keep you, Alex. We’ll figure out the smart bomb thing. We’ll stop them. You’re here and safe and that’s the most important thing, okay?”

Alex takes a deep breath and lets it out, nodding. “Okay. We’ll figure it out.”

“You’re not going to say anything about the other part?” Michael asks, giving Alex a teasing grin.

“You know I love you too,” Alex replies easily, finally giving Michael a hint of a smile.

Michael closes the distance between himself and the bed, cupping Alex’s jaw with his hand, frowning at how thin he is, how much his bones protrude. But he leans in and presses his lips against Alex’s, unable to contain his smile when Alex’s lips part, only waiting a moment before taking full advantage of it.

Alex’s breathing is heavy when they part, his skin flushed, a brightness in his eyes that Michael hasn’t seen in far too long. Since that day out at the Long’s farm, when they were laughing and teasing each other, when it almost felt like things were back to where they were supposed to be, if only for a moment.

Michael lets his thumb smooth over Alex’s lower lip, taking in the way Alex’s pupils dilate and his breathing changes. “God, darlin’, if you weren’t in need of time to recover and if Valenti weren’t in the next room, I’d be in your lap already, riding that glorious-”

“Yeah, hi, not in the next room,” Kyle interrupts.

Michael turns to glare at him. Kyle is standing in the doorway, holding a bowl and a spoon. “Don’t you know how to knock?” Michael asks.

“I did,” Kyle replies, looking a bit contrite. “Several times. But you two were… Otherwise occupied,” his expression changes, giving them both a wicked grin.

Alex merely clears his throat and Kyle’s smile disappears. “Yes. Right. Um,” he walks over the side table, setting the bowl and spoon down. “That’s soup. There’s more in the kitchen for later.” He turns to Michael, “Get him to eat as much of that as he can, but don’t grab another bowl if he finishes. I’ll email you instructions, but just… Keep an eye on him. And call me if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” Michael says.

“Yeah, of course,” Kyle replies easily. “Just take good care of him.”

Michael waits until Kyle is gone to turn, and he finds Alex already working on his bowl of soup.

“What?” he asks. “I’m not hungry, but I figure the sooner I finish this…”

Michael just laughs, waiting until he finishes and sets the bowl aside before leaning in for another kiss.

He pulls away to grab the bowl, “I’m just gonna take this to the kitchen. Can I get you anything?”

“You can help me to the bathroom first?” Alex asks, looking unsure and embarrassed.

Michael sets the bowl down and holds out his hands, helping Alex up. He lets Alex use him as a crutch, going at his pace until they reach the bathroom and Alex lets go, grabbing onto the sink.

Michael takes his time in the kitchen, washing the bowl and spoon, as well as the half-finished glass of water that had been on Alex’s bedside table, drying them off, putting them away. He fills a glass with water before going to check that the front door is locked. That’s when he returns to the bedroom, setting the glass of water on the table, before returning to the bathroom.

“All done?” he asks when he reaches Alex.

Alex just nods, letting Michael help him back to bed.

He watches as Alex sets his laptop on his bedside table and lays down, patting the bed, inviting Michael to join him. And Michael most certainly doesn’t need to be asked twice.

“You know, I meant it when I said that you can’t be sacrificing yourself,” Michael says quietly, stroking up and down Alex’s arm. “You have to talk to me. I need us to be a team.”

Alex nods, “Okay. It’s you and me. We’ll make decisions together.”

“You and me,” Michael echoes his words.

“Now, are you going to kiss me?” Alex asks, grinning at him.

Michael grins in return, capturing Alex’s lips with his own, just kissing Alex until he drifts off to sleep and then just holding him after.

He knows it won’t be easy. Alex has a lot of work to do to recover. And Michael plans on being right by his side through it all. They have to figure out how to deal with the smart bomb. And, of course, he’s certain many other problems will pop up in the future. But, for now, Michael is the happiest he’s been since he was seventeen years old.


End file.
